Coleman's contract will take him up to the end of the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, and he has been tipped to bring in his former Wales and Fulham team-mate Kit Symons as his assistant.

The former Fulham, Real Sociedad, Coventry and Larissa manager says he will speak to the staff that served under Speed before deciding on his own backroom team, but he was adamant that he is no figurehead appointment, and the tone of his comments suggest that Verheijen may have no place in his set-up.

He said: "I've seen some of the comments. If you need a figurehead, why not get an actor and tell him to be a manager?

"You either are or you aren't. You're either a number one or a number two.

"You can't have someone in here either acting, or pretending, to be the manager while someone else is doing everything.

"In fairness, Raymond has done a lot of the coaching and the players have responded.

"But, I know football. And I know footballers. They have done very well for one man who isn't here any more. And I think some people have forgotten that it was Gary Speed."

He added: "I've not had the chance to speak to many of the staff.

"We have got other things running parallel at the moment but there are certain people I need to talk with, not just Raymond.

"I have never met Raymond, he is clearly an opinionated guy but I need to sit down and speak with him at length.

"I have a very close friendship with Kit. He's doing a great job at Fulham with their Under-18s. He's very highly thought-of there.

"Like any manager, every job I've taken I'm not going in with a big axe, sacking people but at the same time I like to take in faces I know.

"But for me to say I am going to bring this guy or that guy in is disrespectful to the staff already there."

While Coleman insisted he empathised with Ramsey's comments, believing them to be a sign of the Arsenal midfielder's desire for Wales to be successful, he says any key decision will be made by him and not the players.

He added: "There can only be one boss.

"You can't do it any other way. I don't go around like a headmaster, we have a lot of good players playing in the Premier League with good managers.

"But I have never worked in a situation where I have let the players boss me."

But Coleman, whose first game is against Costa Rica in Cardiff on February 29, is keen to continue with the passing style that proved so successful in the latter stages of Speed's tenure.

Speed also introduced a stronger emphasis on analysis and sports science to the national set-up, and Coleman has no desire to wipe clean all the good work done by his predecessor, although he admitted that taking charge of his country was "bittersweet" in the circumstances.

He added: "I'm not Gary Speed. I didn't have the career he had.

"Although we were close friends, we were different personalities, but I'm not here to disrupt anything, I'm here to build on it.

"I'd be a fool to come in here and start again because that's not what it needs. I've got no intention of doing that.

"I love this philosophy of playing. I love what's been happening at Swansea City and I've tried to implement the same in Greece with Larissa.

"At the same time, the tail cannot wag the dog. It has to be the other way around.

"I'm not going to change everything, but I'm my own man and if something does need to change, then it will be changed. But, from the outside, looking in, I don't think a lot needs to be changed."